Before last Friday, Airservices Australia intended to introduce straight line “glide in” lower noise approaches to Sydney Airport by the end of the year. But that ruins the fun for pollies in Canberra, who decide just who gets more loud jets in which electorates.

Disaffected pilots and staff are discussing moves to force the Qantas management to disclose secret transfers of assets from Qantas to Jetstar to make the low-cost subsidiary look more profitable than it is.

The US Federal Aviation Administration audit of airline safety oversight in Australia hasn’t gone smoothly, and could see this country downgraded to the same untrustworthy category as parts of the third world.

Disagreements between Jetstar and airport owners have flared into the open, with the airline ditching flights to Rockhampton and threatening to cap or quit services to Darwin and Hobart airports, says Ben Sandilands.

There is no remotely practicable combination of procedures and technology that can remove the risk of a terrorist attack on the population at large, writes Ben Sandilands — and the government knows it.

Jetstar’s much-hyped new alliance with AirAsia will deliver better customer service and a more efficient and effective business model — but it won’t make your next holiday any cheaper, explains Richard Webb.

The notion of betting on business failures is up there in terms of taste and sensitivity with framing the odds on which celebrity will die next, yet Paddy Power’s betting odds of airlines going broke is still interesting, says Ben Sandilands. What are the real odds of Qantas going bust?